


1st Movement: No Rain, No Flowers

by Jead



Series: We All Fall Down [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Deviates From Canon, I don't know what else to tag this as, Multi, basically a re-write of the series, everything that comes with bleach
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 01:18:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13987347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jead/pseuds/Jead
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn't change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans with psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers to save his family; but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits and, along with Rukia - who is slowly regaining her powers - it's Ichigo's job to protect the innocent from Hollows and help the spirits themselves find peace.





	1st Movement: No Rain, No Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Yasutora Sado receives a parakeet that contains the soul of a boy, it is up to Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki to protect him from the Hollow that is after them. Meanwhile, another Soul Reaper has appeared in Karakura Town, arousing suspicion from a less-than-normal resident...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter is: Life is Like a Boat by Rie Fu.

Bluish silver eyes scanned the city, long, liquorice black hair blowing in the wind. Atop a tall building, perched on the railing, was a girl somewhere in her teens, though only by appearance. She wore an edited shihakushō - sleeveless with the hakama cut a few inches above her knees - and a loose, dark grey cover that ended at her hips. The shoulders fell right above her elbow, the sleeves covered her hands, and the fabric had a blue, floral pattern.

As she watched the passersby below, she fanned herself with a dark blue fan that had beautiful white flowers and butterflies painted onto it. Karakura Town wasn't very big and looked easy enough to navigate, yet still wanted to get as much of a bird's eye view as she could, just to get a feel for the area. Suddenly, she stopped fanning herself, glancing at the fan with a puzzled expression. She had done nothing; the fan stopped on its own.

“...Is something…?”

The girl spun on her heels, and came face to face with a blond man in a green outfit. His eyes were covered by a green and white striped hat.

“Funny. I thought Rukia was assigned to this area.”

“She is,” the girl stated, keeping her fan in front of her. The man raised a brow.

“You can put that away. I’m not going to attack you.”

“Even if that’s true, whether you’re friend or foe has yet to be determined.”

He raised his hands in a ‘don’t shoot’ manner, and once he was sure she wasn’t going to strike, tipped the brim of his hat up enough to reveal grey eyes, “So, then...If you weren’t assigned to Karakura, why are you here?”

“Because I was assigned to Rukia Kuchiki.” He hid it well, but she could still tell he was puzzled. “Allow me to explain. Not long after Rukia was assigned here, Captain Ukitake thought someone more experienced should go to look after her, just until she got settled. Captains Kuchiki and Aizen supported this idea, so after some pestering, the Captain Commander gave in, and I was selected for the job.”

The blond nodded in understanding. “That answers that question. Now, onto the next. Who are you?”

“Arashi Hanako,” the girl bowed, “Fourth seat of the Thirteenth Division.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Urahara Kisuke; just a simple candy shop owner.”

Hanako tilted her head. “...And the former captain of the Twelfth Division.”

Oh. She knew about that. “Let’s not worry about the past.” He shooed it off with a wave of his fan, “You’re looking for Rukia, right?” Hanako nodded. "Well, I can tell you where she is, but you _might_ not like what you find.” Her brows furrowed. “You see, there was an...let’s call it an _incident_ the other day. A hollow attacked a family, and while trying to protect them, Rukia…” Hanako’s eyes widened, as she put a hand over her mouth. Was she too late? Did she fail her mission? Rukia…“...had to give her powers over to a high school student.”

“...I’m sorry, what?” The next minute was filled with stuttering, as Hanako tried to comprehend the situation. Rukia had given her powers to a human - a _teenager_ \- for reasons the fourth-seat couldn’t begin to imagine. _She isn’t dead, she’s just...powerless?_

She wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.

“...Where is this student?”

Urahara smirked. “Same place she is. The high school right,” he pointed to a large building off in the distance, “over there. I could give you a uniform, if you need it.”

They shared a glance.

“....You don’t get many customers, do you?”

“Not really, no.” Beat. “That reminds me...You wouldn’t happen to need any Soul Candy, would you?”

Hanako reached into her pocket, pulling out a candy dispenser with a bunny head on top. “The uniform will do. I won’t even ask how you managed to obtain one.”

“A good choice,” he chuckled. “Alright, then. Come with me.”

“Before we go...I require the name of this student. The one Rukia gave her powers to.”

Kisuke stopped and turned to face her.

“Of course. His name is…”

“ **_Kurosaki Ichigo!_** ” Now, everyone who’s anyone knows that for an infiltration to work, the infiltrator needs to be stealthy. They can’t draw attention to themselves, or they risk their cover getting blown. Hanako knew this better than anyone, as it _had_ been her job for quite some time, but in the midst of this chaos, she had, apparently, forgotten that.

Two sets of eyes fell on her, only one of them she recognized. Bright, sparkling purple. The eyes of one Rukia Kuchiki. The boy with her raised a brow, both confusion and annoyance spread across his features.

“...Can I help y - ”

“Hanako!” Rukia suddenly exclaimed, as she leapt up to greet the other.

“Ah, Rukia-san, there you - ”

“We have so much to catch up on!” She began tugging a very confused Hanako to the other side of the roof. “Let’s talk over here, where it’s more private! Ichigo, you come, too!”

“Why do I - ”

“ _Now._ ”

The wrath of Rukia wasn’t pleasant, so Ichigo followed with a huff.

Once Rukia was sure they were completely alone, she pulled Hanako into a short hug, before explaining her situation: How she ran into Ichigo, the reason she had to give her powers to him, why she had pretty much gone MIA, etc.. Hanako explained hers, as well, and once everyone was caught up, apologized to Ichigo for blaming him.

He waved it off. “Don’t sweat it. I’d probably think the same in your position.”

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re here.” Rukia placed a hand on Hanako’s shoulder, causing the latter to jump back. “Ichigo still doesn’t have a complete understanding of his new abilities, so having an experienced soul reaper - not to mention a seated officer - helping him should yield good results.”

“I think I’m doing just fine on my own,” Ichigo mumbled.

“But you’ll do _better_ with back-up! Besides, she’s fourth-seat for a reason. I’m honestly surprised she hasn’t been promoted to lieutenant...”

“Lieutenant?!” Hanako exclaimed, face flushed. “I-I appreciate the compliment, b-but I could never be a lieutenant…!”

Rukia merely shrugged.

“If you’re going to be staying here,” Ichigo interrupted, “you should probably stick around us.”

Hanako nodded in agreement, and offered a thank you.

It was then that Rukia snapped her fingers, causing the other two to look in her direction.

“I just remembered! Ichigo, we have to check up on your injury!”

“Oh, yeah…”

Once again, Hanako had to be filled in. Apparently, Ichigo had sustained a minor injury in a fight the day before, which Rukia had fixed with Kido. She wanted to make sure it was healing properly. After checking his forehead, she deemed it had.

“Only a few hours and I’m good as new…”

“Well of course. My Kido scores were the best in my class!”

Ichigo raised a brow, “You got graded? So what, then, there’s a school for Soul Reapers?”

“The Shin'ō Academy, yes.” Hanako smiled. “I also got top marks for Kido in my class, along with a dear friend of mine.” The ravenette paused for a moment, then let out a soft laugh. “It’s hard to believe that was over a century ago…”

She noticed Ichigo’s eyebrows shoot up, but he didn’t ask, so she didn’t comment. It was for the best.

“More importantly,” Rukia suddenly cut in, before shoving her juice box in Ichigo’s face, “How do I drink this?”

“You...poke a hole in the top with your straw…?”

“What straw?”

Ichigo sighed deeply and was about to explain, when a boy with short black hair and dark eyes walked up to the trio, saying something that Hanako didn’t catch. She was busy helping Rukia fight a juice box.

She finally managed to find the straw (“So, this is a straw…”), then proceeded to look all around for a place to poke it (“I poke it...where?”). Hanako tried giving her best advice (“I think it’s somewhere at the top…?”), but to no avail.

“I just...want to drink this...juice...stuff…”

“But isn’t the straw too short?”

Rukia glanced between Hanako and the juice box, then let out an aggravated huff, which drew the attention of the black haired boy. He walked over to them, and offered a smile.

“Hi. How ya doin’?”

“Why hello there!” Rukia chirped. Hanako swore she could see sparkles floating around her. She never realized how good of an actress the younger Kuchiki was.

“You’re, um...Mizuiro, right?”

“That’s me. I guess we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Mizuiro Kojima. I like - “

“Picking up chicks,” Ichigo interrupted. Hanako tilted her head.

“Well, chicks are soft…”

“Not baby chickens, women. He may look like a dork, but he’s a real player. Seriously.”

“Hey, cut it out! You’ll ruin my reputation!” Mizuiro huffed. “Besides, you know older women are more my style.”

“As I said, you two, be careful.” They both looked over at Rukia and Hanako, who were still attempting to open that juice box. Ichigo sighed.

“Ah, forget it.”

By this point, Hanako had given up on trying to open the juice box, even though Rukia was determined. She walked over to Ichigo, and rested her head on his arm, putting most of her weight on him. He glanced at her for a moment, but didn’t seem to mind much.

“Maybe I was wrong about you and Rukia,” Mizuiro laughed.

“Mizuiro...shut up.”

Hanako snickered, only to be cut off by a boy’s voice yelling from a few yards away.

“What’s this?! Rukia Kuchiki, the totally hot transfer student, is here with you guys?! How’d that happen?!” Messy brown hair, brown eyes...rather average looking. At any rate, his gaze landed on Hanako, which made him freak out even more.

“And who the hell is she?!” He hung his head, a figurative raincloud suddenly floating over him. “Man, you two are lucky…”

“It wasn’t me,” Mizuiro started, “Ichigo picked them up. He’s the one who brought them here.”

Ichigo tried to explain he hadn’t done anything, while Hanako attempted to introduce herself. Both went ignored.

The brunet grabbed Ichigo’s shoulder, which Hanako took as her cue to slide back over to Rukia (who was _still_ trying to open the juice box). Not even two seconds later, previously mentioned brunet joined them, introducing himself as “Keigo Asano”, and welcoming the girls to, what he called, a ‘garden of manliness’. Both Soul Reapers were very confused.

They were only more confused when he started jumping around and exclaiming something or other about having a party “right here, right now”. Ichigo had _tried_ to point out that they didn’t have anything party worthy, but ultimately went ignored. The girls tuned Keigo out, until he offered to help if they ever needed anything.

So, of course, Rukia shoved the juice box in his face.

“Great! Open this!”

“No prob! Your wish is my comm - Huh?”

Right as he went to grab it, though, a tall boy with wavy, dark brown hair, brown eyes, the right covered by his hair, and dark, tan skin appeared behind him, causing Keigo to back right into him. He may have looked intimidating to most people, but Hanako found his presence...comforting, in a way. Not unlike a large dog. Hanako took note of all the bandages he had...Must have gotten into quite the scuffle. Her gaze then travelled down to the birdcage he held in his left hand. Inside was a white cockatiel. What an odd thing to bring to school.

“Hey, Chad,” Ichigo greeted, to which ‘Chad’ replied with a hum and a wave. He didn’t appear to be much of a talkative type, which, frankly, was a nice change from the others. Ichigo also noticed how bandaged up his friend was, and was the first to ask, “So, what’s up with all the bandages?”

“Whoa, you got hurt!” Keigo exclaimed, turning to face the taller boy, “How? What happened to you?”

“I had a mishap,” was Chad’s response. The way he said it was very dismissive, as if all he did was skin his knee or something along those lines. However, a scraped knee didn’t require that much gauze and bandages. Not to mention the fact that most of the bandages were around/near his head. Hanako didn’t believe what happened was a ‘mishap’. As it turned out, she was right. “A steel beam fell on my head.”

“A steel beam?!” They were all confused - and concerned, though mostly confused - but Keigo was, of course, far more vocal than the rest of them. “For real?!”

“My hand got hurt when a motorcycle ran into me,” he continued, still as nonchalant as he had been before. “The rider who hit me got banged up pretty bad. The force of the collision threw him off and he was knocked out, so I picked the guy up, and carried him to the hospital.” His entire story sounded fake, yet there was nothing to suggest he was lying, aside from the outrageousness of it all.

“Well, no wonder you were late to school...” Keigo muttered.

“The only thing I want to know is what exactly is your body made of?” Hanako nodded in agreement with Ichigo’s question. How did he even _survive_ such a thing? He was well-built, sure, but he was still human. And no human she knew of could survive a _steel beam_ falling on their _head,_ on top of having a _motorcycle crash into them._ It just wasn’t possible...Maybe he _wasn’t_ human…?

At any rate, Chad set the cage down on the ground a moment later, while the group went for a closer look. “Where’d you get that bird, anyway?” Keigo asked. Hanako immediately knelt down by the cage, and began petting the cockatiel with her index finger. She absolutely adored birds; such amazing animals they are. Sure, they’re loud sometimes, and they peck and claw, too, but a lot of animals are like that. There was something about birds that drew her in, something she could relate to, something they shared…

...Speech and advanced mental functions were _not_ supposed to be some of those things, but after a bit of petting, the cockatiel introduced himself. “My name’s Yuichi Shibata. It’s nice to meet you. What’s your name?” For a split second, it was as if everything froze, though the only ones who felt it were the three spiritually aware individuals. Keigo had begun trying to get the bird to say his name, but they weren’t paying attention. That _wasn’t_ a normal bird.

Ichigo was the first to speak up, drawing the others’ attention to him. “So, Chad, just where did you get this bird?” That was the million dollar question. Hanako noticed that Chad had tensed up slightly, although he hid it very well. So many people in this town were experts at hiding their emotions, it seemed.

“Someone…” He paused for quite a long time, longer than needed to recall something that specific. Surely it was easy to remember where he got a _cockatiel_ from! At the very least, it shouldn’t have taken him five whole seconds to remember. ( _Exactly_ five; she counted.) “...Gave him to me.”

“Hold it! There you go again!” And there was Keigo, once again putting everyone else’s words into a much louder, much more melodramatic, though. “Getting lazy and cutting your story short - Come _on!_ That’s a bad habit you have, Chad! Now explain! Spill it!” Throughout all the yelling, Chad sat down near the birdcage, barely a foot away from Hanako. She looked up at him, trying to read him better, but couldn’t pick up on anything. It made her sad, if she were to be honest. It took a lot of effort to close off one’s emotions like that, and if it _didn’t_ take effort, then it took a lot of pain to make it as such.

“That’s the whole story,” Chad insisted.

“There you go, just like you usually do! You never share the details -- “ By that point, Hanako had stopped paying attention to Keigo and turned to Chad (who had _also_ tuned the loud boy out) while motioning to Yuichi. “May I?” He nodded and opened the cage door, allowing Hanako to gently pull Yuichi out. She held him close to her chest and resumed petting his head, earning a few happy chirps. Other than that, however, he wasn’t behaving in the way a normal bird should.

Out of all of them, Ichigo was the only one concerned about the fact that this bird was out of the ordinary. “Don’t worry about it.” Rukia’s voice drew him from his thoughts, and he turned to face her. “You’re right: there’s something in that bird. But, I don't think it’s evil. I mean, look at it.” Ichigo’s attention was brought to Hanako, who was still cuddling Yuichi. The bird was leaning on and nuzzling her, not unlike a child would their mother. Harmless enough.

“It’s probably just a lonely soul,” Rukia continued, “You know, one that didn’t have many friends. But we can’t leave it, or it may become a Hollow. Tonight, we need to perform a Konso.” Hanako frowned a little ‘pon hearing Rukia’s statement, but she couldn’t deny the fact that the younger soul was right. It was too dangerous to let Yuichi stick around.

The tense moment was broken by Ichigo grumbling, “Great, that’s just what I need, another sleepless night.”

“It doesn’t help to complain,” came Rukia’s response.

“Yeah, I know.”

For awhile, the only sound were the cicadas, and the occasional comments made by one of the teens. Hanako noticed that Yuichi’s eyes were closed and deduced that he had fallen asleep, so she returned him to his cage, then got up to join Rukia and Ichigo. Her eyes lit up ‘pon noticing that Rukia was drinking from the juice box.

“Oh! You finally got that open!”

“Yeah. It’s pretty good, very sweet...Want to try some?” Rukia held the juice box out to Hanako, which she gladly accepted and took a sip of. The moment the liquid hit her tongue, Hanako’s nose scrunched up. She handed it back to Rukia. “It’s...a little too sweet for my tastes.”

There were both pulled from their juice discussion by Ichigo’s voice. He was staring intently at Chad...Or perhaps that intense look was his default?...Either way.

“I gotta tell you...Back in eighth grade, that was when I first met Chad. The color of my hair always got people’s attention, but not in a good way, and I always got into fights. In fact, the day I met Chad, his timing couldn’t have been better. I was in the middle of this little... _scrape..._ These guys really meant business.” His gaze softened a little. It was apparent that he was looking back on a fond memory. He went on to explain how one of the guys, the leader, was about to smash a cement block over his head, when Chad stepped in, taking all of their attention away from Ichigo. Chad took a lot of hits for him, although it didn’t look like he actually felt any of them. All the while, Ichigo had watched in disbelief. “...And that was the day I met Chad. And Chad _never_ fights back, no matter how much people egg him on.”

“He’s an odd one,” Rukia observed. All three of them were watching him now.

“Yeah.”

“I think it’s quite noble.” The other two glanced at Hanako. She glanced at Rukia. “It’s a bit like Captain Ukitake...wouldn’t you say, Rukia-san?” She thought about it, and ultimately had to agree. Their captain _was_ a lot like that: kind and pacifistic, never raising his weapon unless absolutely necessary. However, they both knew that Chad had a lot more tolerance. If someone attacked Ukitake, he would fight back, even if it were only to subdue them. Chad, on the other hand, from what Ichigo described, would simply take it. “Perhaps ‘noble’ isn’t the right adjective...Admirable.” That worked.

“...I’m out of juice…”

“I’ll get you more.”

And Ichigo kept his promise. The three of them stopped to get things from a vending machine on the way home, and were walking back with drinks in hand: Minute Maid apple juice for Rukia, Georgia Café au Lait for Ichigo, and Gogo no Koucha Milk Tea for Hanako. The sun had started to go down, painting the sky in beautiful shades of purple and orange. Hanako smiled as she took a sip of her tea, then looked over to Ichigo.

“I forgot to ask...What’s Chad’s real name?”

Ichigo looked down at her, head canted. “His real name?...It’s Yasutora Sado. Why?”

His question went ignored initially, as Hanako stared at the sunset, lost in her own thoughts. “ _‘Calm Tiger,’_ huh?...It certainly fits him.” Both of her companions were giving her odd looks now. She chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Ah, sorry. I have a thing with name meanings. I’d like to believe that they’re influenced by a person’s fate, what they’re destined to become. It’s a little ridiculous, but wouldn’t it be cool if that were true? For example, Rukia,” the shorter girl blinked a few times, “your name means _‘light’._ And when you first joined the Thirteenth Division, you brought a special light with you. I had never seen the place so lively! Maybe that was simply coincidence. Maybe it wasn’t.” She then turned her attention to Ichigo. “And you...How do you write your name? I doubt you write it _strawberry._ ” Ichigo sighed, but was glad that she at least didn’t make fun of him.

“You’d be right about that. It’s written _‘one who protects’,_ or something along those lines.”

Hanako was silent for a moment, before bursting into a fit of giggles. “Well, that fits you perfectly!” Ichigo wasn’t as amused as she was.

He thought for a moment, brows furrowed slightly. “Yours is… _’flower child’,_ right?” He suddenly stepped in front of her and gave her a once-over, then nodded. “Yeah, I can see it. Put some flowers in your hair, a few woodland creatures...Embrace your inner Disney princess.” Both girls had their heads tilted in confusion. Ichigo sighed. “...Remind me to show you guys _Snow White_ sometime. I think you’d like it.”

With that out of the way, they continued their walk back to Ichigo’s house. He agreed to house Hanako for the night, though she had to do something first. To avoid being seen, Rukia decided she would simply enter through the window. Ichigo found it a little odd, but then again, they were odd in general. His entire situation was odd.

Speaking of odd...Why were his sisters running around?...And why were they in nurse uniforms?...And who was his dad yelling at?!

As it turned out, there was a huge car crash a few blocks away. Four cars involved. The twins were carrying supplies over. Though why they were dressed like that was still a mystery. As for who his dad was yelling at...Ichigo never got a clear answer, but it sounded like someone who worked at that big hospital not too far away.

“Well, he’s awfully worked up…” Ichigo looked over to find Hanako standing right beside him. He hadn’t even heard footsteps, but he supposed that might have been because of Yuzu and Karin running around. He nodded in silent agreement, and the two continued watching the man, for lack of better wording, flip shit.

“Look, tell your boss that this is a request from Isshin Kurosaki! He’ll find me some hospital beds that are open, no problem!” Out of the corner of his eye, Ichigo noticed Hanako’s brows furrow. She was staring intently at Isshin, as if she were trying to remember something. Did she know him from somewhere?...No, that was ridiculous. She couldn’t have. He then noticed her shift her gaze to Ichigo, that same look in her eyes. Maybe they reminded her of people she knew? They were an awfully odd family, though. He had thought he heard her whisper something - _‘Iba’,_ or something along those lines - but before he could ask, he was interrupted by Isshin yelling, “JUST DO IT!”, then slamming the phone down onto the receiver.

“Uh...Hey, Dad…” His greeting went completely ignored. Isshin was too busy mumbling about how stupid those people were. He was obviously angry. Even when Ichigo offered to help, all he got was possibly the best advice Hanako had ever heard: “Just assume the fetal position and stay out of the way!” She could certainly do that! Ichigo could, too, although he chose to sit against a wall and curl himself up. Good enough.

After sitting there for what felt like _hours,_ the two heard the doors burst open, and Yuzu exclaim, “Dad, there’s one more!”

“Man, this guy’s as big as they come,” Isshin muttered, followed by yelling, “Ichigo! Come here and get to work!”

“On it!” Ichigo nearly jumped up and ran out of the hall, Hanako following suit. They stopped ‘pon turning the corner, as they realized who the last patient was.

“Chad…” “Yasutora…!”

They were so busy worrying about Chad that they didn’t even notice the ashamed look on Yuichi’s face, nor did they notice Karin’s eyes widen in terror the moment she looked at said bird.

There was a large, claw-shaped wound on Chad’s back, yet other than that, he didn’t appear to be badly damaged. It didn’t change the fact that he had suffered some major blood loss. Did that stop him? No! He even insisted he was fine! He stood up, fixed his shirt, and began walking off. Of course, he had lost so much blood that he didn’t get very far. He ended up collapsing after a few steps.

“I told you...Yuzu, Karin, get a bed ready for him.”

“Right! Time to go to bed, Mr. Giant.”

Ichigo made a beeline for his room, Hanako still at his heels. When they got there, they found Rukia already sitting on Ichigo’s bed, gaze intense. They were all on the same page regarding the situation: something was _very_ wrong, and it all centred around that bird. Yuichi itself wasn’t evil, they could tell that much, but Chad’s wound was _definitely_ caused by a Hollow, no doubt about it.

Hanako had woken up at ungodly hours, a usual occurrence for her. She always woke up early so that she could watch the sunrise. She was sitting on the roof for quite some time, lost in her own thoughts; it was already completely bright out when she heard Ichigo run by. Something told her he wasn’t going for a morning jog. She hopped off the roof and began running after him, soon falling in step with him.

“Where’s the fire?”

“Chad’s gone missing. He wasn’t in his bed.”

“Yasutora’s missing?!” She was beginning to rethink what she had said about him the day before, about him being admirable. This was plain stupid. “...Wait, what about Yuichi?” Ichigo gave her a puzzled look. “The cockatiel, Ichigo! What about the cockatiel?!”

“I wasn’t _looking_ for the cockatiel!” he snapped back, “But if I had to guess, I’d say Chad took him.”

“Doesn’t he realize that that bird is the source of all his misfortune?” She was more asking herself than Ichigo. Despite his outward appearance, she didn’t take Chad for the brutish type. He had common sense - He _must_ have realized by then that weird things were happening. Then again, maybe _that’s_ why he was being so reckless. Maybe he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone on this.

“Ichigo! Hanako!” The two skidded to a stop when Rukia called their name, and turned back to face their friend. “Any clues on where he might be?”

“No. You got any info?”

“Not yet.” She sighed softly. “There’s no news from Soul Society about a Hollow, and I’m not sensing anything either.” Rukia suddenly pulled out a large sketchpad that had a poorly drawn diagram on it. It was meant to show how Hollows could hide themselves between the World of the Living and the Soul Society, and when they’re in that space, it’s impossible to detect them. “This means that we won’t be able to locate that Hollow and deal with it until it shows up to attack Chad. You understand?...You got it?”

“I think I can understand those kindergarten drawings of yours,” Ichigo deadpanned.

“Really?” Hanako asked. “I can’t even tell what they are…” Rukia growled and hit Ichigo upside the head with her notebook. Hanako was spared...this time.

“Alright, alright. I think I got it,” Ichigo grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. “A Hollow’s targeting Chad to gobble up his soul. But if we wait for it to show up and attack him, it’ll be too late! I’ve gotta think...” He suddenly had a look of realization on his face, that same look someone gets when they have an ‘ah-ha!’ moment. “I’ve got it. Can we use that bird to help us detect the presence of a Hollow?”

“What?”

“No, that’s impossible.”

Despite that, Ichigo decided to try anyway. He closed his eyes and began concentrating, causing an unusual sensation to wash over the girls. It took a few minutes for them to eventually realize that he was trying to sense the soul inside that bird, Yuichi’s soul. Neither Rukia nor Hanako could sense something so weak from that distance, but maybe Ichigo could. He had proven himself to be special, after all. The girls watched in disbelief as white ribbons appeared all around them, and Ichigo reached out to grab one. _He did it._

“Got’cha!”

“Ah...wow…”

“He saw it,” Hanako murmured, watching as Ichigo ran off. Rukia looked over at her. “Spirit ribbons...Rays of spirit energy...But only a high-level Soul Reaper can see those...And to be able to detect one weak soul amongst so many others….I’ve only met one other person who can do that with such accuracy…”

“Is he really developing into a Soul Reaper that quickly…?” Rukia was only thinking out loud, made apparent by the fact that she ran off without giving the other time to answer. That was alright. Hanako grabbed her candy dispenser out of her pocket and pressed down on the bunny head. A little green pill popped out, which she swallowed. In the next moment, she was standing in front of her Gigai, watching as she dusted herself off.

“Chappy,” the artificial soul looked up at her, “I need you to return to the Kurosaki Clinic. Make sure nothing happens there, okay?”

Chappy smiled brightly while giving a salute. “You’ve got it, hop!” Without another word, she turned on her heels and ran off, back towards the clinic. While she did that, Hanako sprinted to catch up to her friends.

The trio found Chad right as he was rounding a corner, nearly running into them. He immediately ran in the opposite direction, much to the confusion of Ichigo. “Chad, stop running away! You need my help - Hold up!” Chad didn’t stop, however. Ichigo was about to run after him again, when a feeble voice called out to him.

And there was Karin, barely able to stand, leaning against a light post, with Chappy right behind her.

“What are you doing here?” Ichigo asked, “You look really sick.” She couldn’t respond. She crumbled to her knees, even with Chappy’s best attempt at keeping her upright. Ichigo ran over to her, also trying to help her back up.

“Ichigo, you need to get Karin home now, so we know she’ll be safe.” Rukia’s gaze then went to Chappy, who had, by that point, given up on trying to get Karin standing again. “Cha - er - Hanako could go with you. W... _I’ll_ handle them.” Hanako was about to object, since Rukia didn’t have her powers and all, but Ichigo beat her to it.

“Are you kidding me? I can’t just leave you!”

“Do as I say,” Rukia snapped. “I know what would happen if we left her here. You’d be worrying about her when you fight the Hollow, and that _cannot_ happen here, no matter what. So go on, get moving, get her home! And get back here quickly.”

“Rukia...I hope you realize that you don’t have the strength to fight a Hollow by yourself. Please...don’t risk yourself for my sake.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Rukia turned to face him, a slight smile tugging at her lips. “A veteran Soul Reaper never takes any unnecessary chances with a Hollow. Besides, I’m not alone.” She tilted her head towards Hanako, then turned away from Ichigo. “Now, go.”

“Right. Hanako, keep her safe!”

“I’m under orders to!” With that, they went their separate ways.

Once she was sure Ichigo was out of earshot, Rukia spoke up, though she kept her eyes on the road. “So, that’s why you’re here. You were assigned to watch over me.” She sounded somewhat dejected, but quickly shook it off. “Well, I can understand that, all things considered. I guess, out of everyone they could have sent, I’m glad it was you.” She could tell that the look Hanako gave her was a silent request for elaboration. “Naturally, they would send a seated officer, most likely someone my senior, someone with more experience than me. All of those fit you, of course, yet you don’t use it to boss me around or anything like that. So far, you’ve been letting me do everything myself. I appreciate it.”

Hanako smiled and reached out to place her hand on Rukia’s shoulder. “But of course. You may be younger and less experienced than I am, but that doesn’t mean you’re any less qualified. I’ve watched you grow, Rukia, both as a Soul Reaper and a person. You’re quite remarkable, I must say. I have no doubt that you can handle this all on your own; I’m only here to help you if things go wrong.” Rukia gave a nod, before focusing her attention back in front of her, where Chad was.

They had managed to barely catch up with him, but they couldn’t get much closer than that. Well, Hanako could have, but that would require leaving Rukia behind, something she didn’t want to do. Even while running, she was purposely slowing herself down so that Rukia could keep up with her. She felt bad. In Rukia’s current state, she couldn’t exit her Gigai like Hanako could. She was stuck in a body that wasn’t used to athleticism. She must have been feeling that...Along with that sudden presence.

_“You smell good.”_

Both girls skidded to a stop ‘pon registering the disembodied voice, Hanako pressing her back against Rukia’s so they could survey the area completely. Rukia’s heavy breathing was the only thing they could hear. The streets were the only thing they could see. They could feel that presence, though. They knew something had to be there. And they were right: that disembodied voice didn’t stay disembodied for long.

It came from the ground, curling around Rukia’s leg, and appearing behind her once Hanako moved to face it, hand on her sword’s hilt. _“You smell delicious...Magnificent...Now...time to devour your soul!”_ He went to chomp down on her, but Rukia managed to evade with a well-timed front flip. Hanako appeared at her side a moment later.

 _“So, you’re still alive...You’re tougher than I thought. And you can see me quite clearly. That makes me curious...Just who are you?”_ The response it got was a knee to the chin. Rukia didn’t mess around! Hanako wasn’t even sure if she was needed, yet she drew her zanpakuto nevertheless. Meanwhile, Rukia flipped so that she was standing on the Hollow’s back, reciting an incantation as she did so.

“Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!” She pushed herself off the Hollow, holding out her right hand, while her left held onto her right wrist. “Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hadō #33. Sōkatsui!” A torrent of blue energy was fired at him, accompanied by a loud explosion. It was a point blank hit, however, with Rukia still more or less powerless, it didn’t do near as much damage as she hoped.

While the Hollow was recovering, Hanako took the time to prepare her own attack, well aware that it wouldn’t be long before Rukia was in danger again. “Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudō #9. Hōrin!” Using her index and middle fingers, she generated an orange-hued tendril with spiralling yellow patterns, that wrapped around the Hollow’s body. He went to lunge at Rukia again, and was stopped by the tendril for only a few moments before he managed to break free. Luckily, that pause had given Rukia enough time to get out of the way.

Hanako was shocked that he broke her Kidō, until she remembered that she was currently running on only about twenty percent of her normal power levels. Even with the incantation, her Kidō wasn’t near as powerful as it should have been. That...certainly complicated things. If she was running at full power, this would have been a cakewalk. Now she had to not only fight this thing, but also protect Rukia, all without eighty percent of her power. Joy.

 _“I see...So that’s what you are. I know that spell; that’s a Soul Reaper’s spell. But yours were so weak, they had no bite to it. Too bad.”_ He lunged at Rukia once more, and she flipped back to avoid it. This was bad. Neither of them was in any shape to take on a Hollow like this. _“This is bringing back such wonderful memories. You see, I’ve already had the pleasure of devouring two other Soul Reapers who tried to help this boy pass on to the Soul Society. And I assure you, they were mighty good eating.”_

“The boy…” Rukia’s gaze turned cold, as she glared daggers at the Hollow. “You mean the human soul that’s in that bird?”

_“That’s right.”_

“What’s your problem? Why is it that you’ve pursued this poor kid so relentlessly? Tell me why!” She could try to be as threatening as she wanted to, but it didn’t seem to have any effect.

_“I might be more inclined to give you an answer...if you were to let me have a little nibble.”_

“You Hollow scum...” Rukia muttered. Her statement was met only with maniacal laughter.

The battle continued full force - Or, rather, the game of cat and mouse they were playing. The Hollow seemed primarily focused on Rukia, which allowed Hanako to land a few hits here and there. Overall, though, they were buying time until Ichigo came back. He was the only one of them with absolutely no power restriction; taking care of this thing would be a lot easier with him around.

It didn’t take much to tell that Rukia was running out of stamina. She was getting much slower, her reaction time was getting worse...It wasn’t very surprising that she was eventually caught, pinned to a wall by her neck. _“If you’re really a Soul Reaper, why don’t you lose the meat suit and fight me for real?”_ Rukia struggled to get out of his grasp, but to little avail. _“Either way, you die.”_

Though she knew it wouldn’t work, Hanako held her hands out, and began reciting, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō #31. Shakkahō!" A large orb of red energy shot out, hitting the Hollow in the side. He turned to Hanako and laughed.

 _“You really think a weak spell can do anythi - “_ He was cut off by a sudden fist to the face, sending him flying a few feet away. That’s certainly _one way_ to deal with a Hollow…

“Hey, I hit something…” Chad opened and closed his hand while examining it thoroughly. “...All right.” Hanako tilted her head, looking at Chad curiously. He actually managed to land a hit...Could he see spirits?...Judging by the fact that he started continuously hitting the air, she guessed ‘no’. Still, it was very interesting: he knew exactly where to hit, but was surprised to find something there. He wasn’t truly spiritually aware, not like Ichigo was, but he had enough awareness to tell that there was, in fact, another being there.

 _“It was just a lucky punch,”_ the Hollow laughed as he stood up, rubbing his jaw. _“Kid scared me for a second. I thought he could see me.”_

Not even a second after he finished his statement, he would once again be sent flying. Chad made another direct hit! “All right...I hit him again.” The girls could only stare, not entirely sure what to think about the situation. Chad had clocked that Hollow _twice..._ despite him not being able to see or hear it...He was using sheer willpower! It was impressive, yet also very dangerous. Hopefully, he could handle it.

...Or maybe not. The Hollow jumped into the air, using long, batlike wings to fly. Rukia and Hanako were starting to panic. Chad had no idea they were in danger until Rukia snapped at him, “Hey, don’t just stand there! Do something! He’s in the air, right above you!” He looked back at her with surprise. Of course; he didn’t know that she could see these things.

“Hey there, new girl...Are you telling me that you can see ghosts?”

“There’s no time to explain that now! Just get away before - “ She was cut off by more maniacal laughter, as the Hollow swooped down like a bird of prey, his sights set on Chad. It only took a second for Hanako to get in front of him, releasing her zanpakuto as she did.

“Cascade! Eien no Uta!” Her sword shifted into that beautiful fan, only this time, there were blades all around the edges. A light blue, translucent barrier formed around them, effectively blocking the Hollow’s attack. He kept coming, though, and Hanako could only keep the barrier up for so long. They needed a new plan...A new tactic…

“Hey, new girl.” They both turned to face Chad, although as far as he was concerned, there was only one of them. “Something just shielded us, right?” Rukia slowly nodded. So, he could sense the barrier, too? Intriguing. “All right, then...So when he charges, you just tell me where he is.”

“Even if I _did_ tell you, what would you do about it?” He wasn’t really planning on defeating the Hollow by repeatedly punching him, was he? What did he think he was, a boxer?

His answer came in the form of him grabbing on to a telephone pole, much to the girls’ confusion. “When you’ve got flies, you use a fly swatter.” With a grunt of effort, Chad pulled on the telephone pole until it broke off, and began wielding it like a baseball bat. “Just help me get a bead on him.”

“He’s dead ahead. Do it. Bring it down on him!” Rukia’s attention momentarily shifted to Hanako. “Move, now!” She gave a nod and closed her fan, which caused the barrier to disappear, before using Shunpo to move out of the way, right as Chad slammed the telephone pole down onto the Hollow. Though he wasn’t getting back up, Hanako had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy. Rukia approached him, Chad following behind her.

“You’re through now, Hollow. Another Soul Reaper’s on his way here to finish you off for good.” The only response she got was laughter, dark and taunting. “What’s so funny?” More laughter, as the Hollow pushed himself up.

 _“Lazy Soul Reapers. It’s no wonder you’re always getting beaten and humiliated every time you battle us.”_ Suddenly, a swarm of bug-like... _things_ appeared out of nowhere, tackling the three to the ground and holding them there. _“Ha! Looks like the shoe’s on the other foot, now. You Soul Reapers take us too lightly. That’s the reason you keep ending up like this, face down and helpless. But which of you meat socks to eat first? I think I’ll leave the tasty Soul Reapers for last...”_ Little did that Hollow know, his bugs would be no match for Chad. With an effortful yell, he managed to throw all of the creatures off him, much to everyone else’s bewilderment. _“What? What’s going on?! You’re the craziest human I’ve ever seen!”_ They could all agree on that. _“You can’t even see me, yet you think you can defeat me with sheer muscle power?! I’m gonna enjoy eating you!”_

Chad ran forward and threw another punch, nearly hitting his mark, but not quite. He didn’t realize the Hollow had moved, however, so he ended up punching the air a few times. Rukia’s voice eventually pulled him out of it. “Chad, over here! Kick the air above me!” He did so, and the creatures on Rukia went flying off. Once she got herself up, she held out her hand towards Hanako, “Hadō #31. Shakkahō!” It was extremely weak, but the heat and sound from the blast scared away the creatures, allowing Hanako to push herself back to standing. All the while, Chad was...still punching the air. At least he was persistent.

“He’s not there: he’s up in the air again!” Chad immediately stopped and turned to face Rukia. “Anyway, I think I have a plan.”

As it would turn out, her plan was for Chad to launch her like a catapult. It was easily doable, though there were quite a few safety concerns regarding this idea. “Hey, new girl...If you ask me, there are some problems with this plan…” Rukia shooed his concern off.

“Don’t worry. Combining your brute strength with my intelligence is our best chance here.”

“Wait, what about me?!”

“Hanako, your job right now is to back us up with your Kidō and barriers. Got it?” She _wanted_ to argue against it, yet she couldn’t deny that that _was_ a pretty good plan, so she instead gave a nod.

“You must be smart,” Chad cut in, “‘Cause this seems really stupid to me.”

“Let me do the thinking for both of us.” Hanako had the feeling that Rukia greatly underestimated Chad’s own intellect. “I’ll tell you where he is, and you aim me...There! At 4 O’clock!”

“You mean like this?”

“More left. Just a little far - No! Too far! Back to the right and down a little!” That was awfully amusing. Practical? Not in the slightest. But amusing. “Right there! Get ready to launch me. On my mark...Steady...Fire!” Chad threw her easily enough, catching the Hollow completely off guard. It _was_ a stupid plan, but so far it was working!...Until another of those creatures appeared and sprayed Rukia with something, causing her to plummet. It took a dive to do it, but Chad managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Hanako sprinted over to the two, while Rukia began picking at the purple blobs that were now stuck to her. “Damn, what are these things…? Leeches?!”

 _“Ha, ha, ha! Exactly. Try if you like; they won’t come off.”_ No matter how hard Rukia pulled, those things were adamant about staying put. Hanako couldn’t even cut them! _“Oh, and you’ll find they have a nasty little habit...of exploding!”_ A high-pitched sound rang through the air, causing the leeches to, indeed, explode, and knocking Rukia down.

“New girl!” “Rukia!”

She was hurt, to the point where she could barely push herself up. Things were only getting worse. “How the hell did he do that?” Chad asked, while Hanako raised the barrier once more.

_“Haven’t you figured it out yet? They’re remote leech bombs. Diabolical, aren’t they? They latch on, and when I produce a certain frequency with my tongue, they respond by detonating themselves.”_

Chad began walking up to the Hollow, passing right through the barrier before Hanako had time to stop him. They stared each other down for a few moments...Or, rather, the Hollow stared Chad down, and Chad stared air down. Either way, the Hollow scoffed, _“Oh, you want some more, eh, hot shot? Well first, I have someone here you might want to see.”_ He motioned to the ground, where the birdcage was sitting - And inside was Yuichi, looking absolutely dejected.

“Yuichi…!” So, that’s where he had been: he was grabbing the cockatiel as a hostage.

“I’m so sorry, mister,” Yuichi murmured, “I was trying to call out to you…”

“That’s okay.”

The Hollow laughed once more, _“And with four leech bombs on the birdcage, you’ll do what I say. Because if they explode, there won’t be enough of your little friend left to spread on a cracker. Now, let’s play a new game. Musclehead stays put, while I play tag with the Soul Reaper.”_ Hanako immediately shot to her feet, standing in front of Rukia with arms outstretched. She wasn’t planning on letting him get anywhere _near_ Rukia. The shorter girl stood, albeit, a little wobbly.

“Do what he says. Don’t think for a second he won’t blow up the bird. At least the chase will take him away from here, so you’ll be safe.”

“But what about you, new girl?”

“Don't be concerned; I can take care of myself.”

“You can’t really be planning on going through with this, can you? At least let me distract him.” Rukia looked back at Hanako and shook her head.

“For whatever reason, he’s focused on me. It’s best if I do this.” She offered a determined smile in an attempt to ease Hanako’s concern. “Don’t worry about it. I made a promise: I’ll be just fine.” There was no arguing with her when she was this hellbent, so Hanako merely nodded. Both she and Chad wished Rukia good luck, and she took off running, those creatures right on her tail, followed by their leader.

What felt like hours passed in absolute silence, though it couldn’t have been any more than five minutes. Each second was agonizing. Rukia knew what she was going, Hanako kept telling herself. It didn’t change the fact that she was worried to death about her, and standing around doing nothing didn’t help at all. She trusted Rukia, she really did. It was that Hollow she didn’t trust. If there was even a chance that Rukia had gotten herself in too deep, then Hanako had to go after her. She was under orders, after all.

“I’m going after her,” she muttered to herself, knowing that Chad couldn’t hear her. There was someone she forgot, however: Yuichi. The bird began flapping his wings frantically, which drew both Chad’s and Hanako’s attention to it. The poor thing looked absolutely terrified.

“No! Please! Don’t go, miss!” Chad raised an eyebrow at the bird, before looking in Hanako’s general direction. “He’ll kill you, just like all the others! And you’re really nice! I don’t want you to die! Oh, please, don’t do it!” His pleading made Hanako’s heart hurt. Such a kind soul...She could only imagine the horrors he had experienced.

She took a few steps towards the cage, careful not to get too close in fear of setting the leech bombs off, and knelt down, smiling softly at the cockatiel. “Don’t worry, Yuichi. I’m not scared of him. I’ve dealt with much worse things, believe me. Besides, my friend needs my help; I can’t abandon her. I’ll be back for you, I promise. Until then, I need you to be brave. You can do that for me, can’t you?” Yuichi seemed to think for a second, then nodded. “Good. I’ll be leaving now.” She pushed herself back up and turned to leave, but was stopped by Chad’s voice.

“Other new girl…?” She turned to face him, eyes wide. He still couldn’t see her - he was looking right past her, actually - yet he somehow deduced that she was the other presence there. He truly was something. “...I’ll keep an eye on him. Good luck.” She smiled and silently thanked him as she took off running.

She was actually pretty impressed at how far Rukia had managed to get in such a short amount of time. She had stopped for a moment to search for her, perched on a rooftop. She managed to lock onto Rukia, along with another, familiar presence. One belonging to a certain orange-haired teen. Hanako caught sight of him and jumped down, earning her a slightly startled glance.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he joked. “Anyway, I’m going to assume you’re _also_ looking for Rukia?”

“You seem awfully calm about this…”

He shrugged, “I’m sure Rukia can hold off until we get there.” Hanako wasn’t entirely sure about that, especially considering that when they found Rukia, she was cornered by the Hollow. She was talking about fighting him, since that had worked _so well_ the last time. However, it proved to be a ruse, a way to buy time. Hanako could see it when their gazes met.

“Hold on a sec!” Ichigo growled, as he stomped his foot on the Hollow’s head. Rukia smirked.

“Perfect timing, you guys.”

“You act like you planned it this way,” he snapped, “I thought you promised me you weren’t going to screw this up!”

“Well, now, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you actually care about what happens to me.”

“Huh. I guess I do.”

“Could you two maybe flirt on your _own_ time?” Hanako deadpanned. The response she got was a synchronized “We’re not flirting!” She didn’t say anything, but she definitely didn’t believe them.

 _“How touching,”_ the Hollow mocked. _“Do you plan to keep standing on my head all day?”_ Oh, yeah. He was still on there. Well, Ichigo was a courteous guy, sometimes, so he hopped off the Hollow’s head. _“Who the hell are you, anyway?”_

“Ichigo Kurosaki, age 15, Substitute Soul Reaper. And if you _really_ want to play some serious tag, I think it’s me you ought to chase.” He had pure determination in his eyes, paired with a cocky smirk. _Teenagers._

 _“Ah...Substitute Soul Reaper, eh? Crap...I screwed up. When the two of you split up back there, I should have gone after you!”_ Those creatures appeared out of nowhere, spraying leech bombs everywhere, while the Hollow produced the frequency that set them off. Right as he did, Rukia made a beeline for Ichigo, and pressed her palm against his chest. Hanako noticed that she was wearing a red, fingerless glove. Ichigo’s body slumped in a heap, but he was standing right above it, decked out in a shihakushō, with an impressively large sword strapped to his back.

He jumped into the air, slashing the Hollow’s arm as he came down. Hanako took this as her cue to attack, too, and made a pretty deep cut in his back with her fan. The Hollow sprung back and landed in a crouch, all the while laughing to himself. _“You’re too slow, but I can tell your soul is going to be tasty.”_ More of those creatures appeared, ready to spray leech bombs. _“Say hello to my little friends.”_

“I got it now,” Ichigo muttered, “You used those things to tie up Chad, then attacked a defenceless girl. What a coward. Time to pay.”

_“The only price I’m going to pay is indigestion after I finish eating three more Soul Reapers!”_

It was around this time that Chad caught up to them, Yuichi’s cage in hand, and Chappy at his heels. The artificial soul nearly stepped on Ichigo’s body, which was lying facedown on the street, while Chad tried calling out to it. Needless to say, he got no response from the lifeless body, only from Rukia.

“Oh, there you are.” She turned to face him. “Don’t worry about him. Just get out of here with that cockatiel. Take it somewhere safe.”

“What’s going on?...What’s wrong with Ichigo?”

“Don’t worry about him.” She turned back to the fight. “Ichigo is fine. He’s fighting to protect us…”

“What about Miss Hanako, hop?” Chappy suddenly asked. Of course, Chad was under the impression that that _was_ Hanako. For this reason, he gave the artificial soul an odd look, while Rukia sighed deeply. She was hoping to avoid this conversation, but that didn’t seem possible anymore.

“Look, I’ll explain everything later. Right now, you _need_ to get out of here.”

Chad wasn’t sure what to think anymore.

Back at the fight, Ichigo and Hanako were having one hell of a time slicing those creatures apart, while simultaneously trying to avoid the leeches. Even with none of the leeches attaching themselves, the Hollow could still activate them - Which he did, resulting in multiple explosions around the two. What he didn’t expect was Hanako raising another barrier that shielded the duo from the blasts. When she was sure nothing else would blow up, she lowered the barrier. “Go, now, before the dust settles.”

He did as told and charged. When his blade reached the Hollow’s neck, however, he stopped. “Before I slice and dice you, I want you to tell me something. You killed the mother of that boy inside the cockatiel, didn’t you?” Hanako gasped quietly, a hand involuntarily going over her mouth. “You might as well admit it, because either way, you’re going down.”

The Hollow laughed. _“You got me. Yeah, I killed her. And to make things even better, the little brat was stupid enough to believe that if he did what I said, I’d bring her back.”_

“How could he believe something like that…?” The words left Hanako’s mouth before she could even think about it, barely above a whisper.

_“Because he wanted to!”_

“You bastard,” Ichigo growled.

_“Yes….I killed the brat’s mother back when I was still alive. You might have heard about me. I was all over the TV, the radio - Everywhere. I was a famous serial killer. They would never have caught me, either. I was too smart. I’d still be out there hunting today, but as it turned out, the kid’s mother was my last score. She was a sweet one...I stabbed her eight times and she ran, bleeding. And when she couldn’t run anymore, she still tried to protect the kid. It was such a thrill. But that’s when everything went sour. I chased her onto the balcony and finished her off...Then that stupid kid grabbed my shoelaces! I lost my balance and went over the railing, twenty stories down! Who’d have thought I’d get knocked off by a snot-nosed kid? Suddenly, I was dead. I was pissed. I wanted payback. The punk kid was still alive, so I sucked out his soul, and stuck it in that stupid cockatiel. Then, I made him a deal. I told him if he could run from me in that bird body for three months, I’d bring his precious mommy back to life.”_

The disgust in the Soul Reapers’ eyes was painfully obvious. Just listening to his story made their blood boil. Ichigo was the only one to speak, though; Hanako was at a complete loss for words. “How could you do that?”

 _“I_ couldn’t _do that, you moron! Bring a dead person back to life?! Nothing, nobody could have brought her back after what I did to her! I just said it to get the brat to play along. And it worked like a charm, too. He runs from me, and I get the thrill of the chase. Not only that, there’s the added pleasure of slaughtering everyone who tries to help him! And every time, he squeals and begs me, ‘don’t hurt them, don’t hurt them’, and he wants to quit our little game. That’s when I use my clincher: ‘Mommy’s waiting for you to save her’. What a laugh. But it always works, and he’s off running again. ‘Mama, mama’ - HA!”_ Shrieker pushed Ichigo’s sword away from his neck. _“But enough about me. Now it’s time,”_ he lept up, once again spreading his wings, _“to kill you!”_

More leech bombs were sprayed, but instead of dodging them, Ichigo grabbed one and charged at Shrieker. “Here, have your bomb back!” When he was close enough, he rammed his fist into the Hollow’s teeth, breaking right through the mask. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to detonate it now?” Shrieker tried to move away from Ichigo, yet found himself unable to due to six thin, wide beams of light holding him in place. He looked past Ichigo to find Hanako pointing her index finger at him.

“Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six. Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō.”

Ichigo chuckled, almost darkly. He was enjoying this a little too much. “Well? Go ahead. Just do that thing you do with your tongue.” He got no response. “Well, then, if you aren’t going to use it, I may as well take it from you!” Without another word, Ichigo hopped back, taking Shrieker’s tongue with him.

_“Gah! My tongue! You son of a -- !”_

In one fell swoop, the Substitute cut right through Shrieker, but he didn’t disappear like most Hollows did. Instead, a pillar of light erupted from his wound, soon followed by two large doors with half a skeleton on each one. Ichigo stared at them like a deer in the headlights.

“Don’t worry,” Rukia assured him, “They’re the gates of Hell, but they’re opening only for him.” The skeletons’ arms started pulling at the doors, breaking the chains sealing them one by one. “A Zanpakuto can only wash away the sins committed as a Hollow. Those who commit terrible crimes while alive go to Hell.” Warm air blew through the area, as Shrieker was swiftly impaled by a large metal rod and pulled through the doors, which closed behind him, then shattered.

“So….that’s Hell…”

With everything else taken care of, the last order of business was to fix Yuichi. Unfortunately, they were too late. “His Chain of Fate has been severed,” Rukia explained, “There’s no sign of it. Without it, there’s no way I can return him to his body.”

“Oh, no…”

“Don’t worry,” Hanako cooed as she kneeled down beside Rukia, “Soul Society isn’t that bad. You’ll never be hungry, and you’ll never grow old...It may not be ideal, to some, but you’ll be happy. And, hey, when you pass over, you’ll finally be reunited with your mother.” The happy expression that overtook his features caused the knot in her stomach to tighten. She hated it, lying through her teeth like that, but he deserved some hope, even if it was false.

“Maybe we can’t bring her back to life,” Ichigo chimed in, “but she is on the other side waiting for you. And this time, it’s really true.” Rukia looked up at him. She and Hanako both knew that wasn’t true, but neither of them could bring themselves to say anything. At least this way, Yuichi could be happy.

The cockatiel turned towards Chad, seemingly smiling. “Mister Sado?...Thank you for everything you did for me. You carried me everywhere, and kept me safe...And you were even brave enough to face that terrible monster and protect me from it.”

“Hey, don’t even mention it.”

“I guess...it’s time for me to go now…” From behind the bird, they (excluding Chad) could see the spirit of a young boy forming. The real Yuichi. ”I don’t know what else to say except thank you...All of you.”

“Hey, Yuichi?” He looked over at Chad. “Someday, when I die and pass over, too, would it be alright with you if I carried you around again?” The boy stared for a little while, before smiling brightly, and humming in agreement. All was silent, a chance for anyone to say anything else, but everyone had said what they wanted to.

“Well, then.” Ichigo broke the silence as he reached back to grab his Zanpakuto. “If you’re ready, let’s begin the konso.” He was about to draw his sword, when a hand on his arm stopped him. He looked over, and there was Hanako.

“May I?” He didn’t give her a reply, just put his hand down and stood back.

Hanako approached the boy, who was smiling up at her. She couldn’t help but smile back. “...When I get back to Soul Society, I’ll be sure to find you, okay?” He nodded. Hanako leaned down to place a light kiss on his forehead, before drawing her sword and pressing the butt of it to that same spot.

 _“Thank you, Miss…”_ Those faint words were the last ones Yuichi said before he faded away.

When she had been given this task, Hanako had expected to be stuck sleeping in a park somewhere, not a spare room in a candy shop. Yet Urahara had been kind enough to let her stay, and she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She found herself unable to sleep, though, so she decided to lay on the roof for a while, staring at the sky, mind racing. She never could keep her thoughts together during times like this, these rare, peaceful moments, always plagued by memories and theories.

She pulled down her shirt’s collar a bit, gaze settling on the black snowdrop marking her skin. That mark, which limited her power by eighty percent… She hadn't thought it would be an issue, but now she wasn't so certain. _“We usually only do this for captains and lieutenants,”_ Captain Ukitake had told her before she left, _“but since you possess great Reiryoku…well, better to be safe than sorry. You shouldn't run into much trouble, anyway.”_ If only he knew how wrong he had been.

She thought of her friends back in Soul Society, the ones she had been so used to seeing constantly, but rarely ever crossed paths with anymore. Her heart ached, that familiar pain of missing someone, mixed with something she couldn’t identify. It just... _hurt._ All of a sudden, she felt so... _alone_. At the same time, she thought of Rukia, and Ichigo, and Chad, and it made her feel a little better. She wasn’t alone: she just had to keep reminding herself of that. Hanako reached a hand out to the sky as if to grab a star, then closed it, smiling softly as she did.

“I’ll be back soon,” she murmured, before letting sleep overtake her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know you all probably have a lot of questions, but I promise they'll be answered; you just have to stay tuned!
> 
> And now, the notes:  
> >I'm aware that the Limit Release is only supposed to be used for Lieutenants and Captains, but it's to keep their high Spiritual Pressure in check. This should mean that even those who AREN'T Lieutenants/Captains but have Spiritual Pressure matching a Lieutenant/Captain's (such as Ikkaku) should have to have one, too.  
> >Eien no Uta SHOULD, if I did this right, translate to "Eternal Song". If I didn't...well, please correct me.  
> >Eien no Uta is a bladed Tessen, Japanese war fans with outer spokes made of heavy plates of iron which were designed to look like normal, harmless folding fans. However, appearance-wise, it's more similar to a Gunsen, folding fans used by the average warriors to cool themselves off.


End file.
